April 10, 2025
Mr. Olszewski (for himself, Mr. Carson, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Hernández, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Liccardo, Ms. Norton, Ms. Titus, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Underwood, Ms. Velázquez, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Elfreth, Mr. Fields, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Lieu, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Tran, Mr. Bell, Mr. McGarvey, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Stanton, and Mr. Cleaver) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
To provide employment protections for, and reinstatement of, certain probationary Federal career employees, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Employment protections and reinstatement of probationary career Federal employees
(a) Due process protections
(1) In general
Any Federal employee who is promoted to a position in the competitive service, a career position in the excepted service, or to a career appointee position in the Senior Executive Service and, after such promotion, is serving under a probationary or trial period shall be deemed to be covered by, and subject to the requirements of suchapter II or subchapter V (as the case may be) of chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) VA employees
Any Federal employee who is promoted to a position at the Department of Veterans Affairs and, after such promotion, is serving under a probationary or trial period shall be deemed to be covered by, and subject to the requirements of, section 714 of title 38, United States Code.
(b) Reinstatement
Any individual who was a Federal employee serving under a probationary or trial status after a promotion and who was removed from the competitive service, a career position in the excepted service, or a career appointee position in the Senior Executive Service during the period beginning on January 20, 2025, and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act shall, at the election of the individual, be reinstated to the same position or an equivalent position with backpay in accordance with section 5596 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Limitation
Subsection (a) shall not apply to any individual promoted to a political position and subsection (b) shall not apply to any individual removed from a political position.
(d) Definitions
In this section—
(1)
the term career appointee
has the meaning given that term in section 3132(a) of title 5, United States Code;
(2)
the terms civil service
, competitive service
, and excepted service
have the meaning given those terms in section 2101, 2102, and 2103, respectively, of such title; and
(3)
the term political position
means—
(A)
a position described under sections 5312 through 5316 of such title 5 (relating to the Executive Schedule);
(B)
a noncareer appointee (as that term is defined in such section 3132(a)); or
(C)
a position in the executive branch of the Government of a confidential or policy-determining character under schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.